Key benchmark indices continued to languish in negative zone in early afternoon trade. At 12:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex lost 116.60 points or 0.36% at 32,492.56. The Nifty 50 index fell 48.75 points or 0.48% at 10,185.70.
Key indices opened the session lower and languished in negative terrain so far. Profit booking emerged after the two key indices hit record highs yesterday, 17 October 2017. Also, trading sentiment was dull ahead of a long Diwali holiday weekend.
Stock markets remain closed tomorrow, 19 October 2017 on account of Diwali Laxmi Pujan and again on Friday, 20 October 2017 on account of Diwali Balipratipada. However, markets will remain open for Muhurat trading tomorrow, 19 October 2017. The Muhurat trading session on account of Diwali Laxmi Pujan will be between 18:30 IST to 19:30 IST tomorrow, 19 October 2017.
The Sensex lost 146.31 points or 0.44% at the day's low of 32,462.85. The index fell 51.76 points or 0.15% at the day's high of 32,557.40. The Nifty lost 58.70 points or 0.57% at the day's low of 10,175.75, its lowest level since 16 October 2017. The index fell 22.60 points or 0.22% at the day's high of 10,211.85.
Among secondary indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.18%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.05%. The decline in both the indices was lower than the Sensex's slide in percentage terms.
The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,143 shares rose and 1,131 shares declined. A total of 109 shares were unchanged.
IT stocks were mixed. Tech Mahindra (down 2.23%), Infosys (down 0.55%) and TCS (down 0.37%) declined. HCL Technologies (up 0.33%) and Oracle Financial Services Software (up 0.24%) edged higher.
Wipro rose 1.68% at Rs 294.35 after consolidated net profit rose 5.13% to Rs 2189.60 crore on 1.48% decline in net sales to Rs 13423.40 crore in Q2 September 2017 over Q1 June 2017. The result was announced after trading hours yesterday, 17 October 2017. The results are as per International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
Wipro said that it expects revenues from its IT services business to be in the range of $2.014 billion to $2.054 billion in Q3 December 2017.
Wipro's chief executive officer and member of the board, Abidali Z. Neemuchwala said that the company surpassed the milestone of $2 billion in quarterly revenues for IT services on the back of rigorous execution of its strategy. The company's unique digital capabilities powered growth in top clients and positions it well to drive its clients' digital transformation.
Wipro's chief financial officer, Jatin Dalal, said that productivity gains generated by the company's HOLMES automation suite and operational efficiencies overcame the incremental impact of wage hikes and expanded IT services margin to 17.3%.
FMCG stocks dropped. Marico (down 1.76%), Nestle India (down 1.02%), Dabur India (down 0.86%), Hindustan Unilever (down 0.84%), Godrej Consumer Products (down 0.23%) and Colgate-Palmolive (India) (down 0.02%) declined. Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care (up 0.4%), Britannia Industries (up 0.29%) and Jyothy Laboratories (up 0.23%) edged higher.
Suven Life Sciences rose 0.7% at Rs 223 after the company announced grant of one product patent from Singapore corresponding to the new chemical entities (NCEs) for the treatment of disorders associated with neurodegenerative diseases and these patents are valid through 2033. The announcement was made during market hours today, 18 October 2017.
Overseas, Asian stocks traded mixed as investors in the region looked to China's Party Congress for signs on future policy direction in the world's second-largest economy. The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China commenced in Beijing today, 18 October 2017. In his opening remarks, Chinese President Xi Jinping was quoted as saying that his nation's prospects as bright but made a rare acknowledgement of severe economic challenges. Among the grave issues Xi said were insufficiently addressed are a widening income gap and problems in employment, education, medical care and other areas, reports suggested.
US stocks closed mostly higher yesterday, 17 October 2017. The Dow Jones industrial average rose and broke above 23,000 for the first time on an intraday basis.
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